I’m back in the hotel now after a really great Nightwish gig and am completely exhausted but it has been such a great day.
I rose early and headed out to the venue before my friends were awake as some people I was due to meet were already at the venue from the early hours. The journey was fairly quick and after arriving at the venue some time between 8am and 9am I met my online friends and settled down ready for a long day of queuing.
There’s not much to report from the 10 hours in the queue. It was mainly good weather to start with so we took some time to enjoy the sun, walk around the venue perimeter, grab some snacks etc but as the day progressed the weather got worse. At one point it was raining quite heavily so the poncho I brought with me came in handy. The queue was split into two and the other side of the queue cheated and hid under this.
Over the course of the day I met quite a few new people which helped pass the time and, as we had all queued there for a long time, we were all like minded. This was evident when it got close to doors and we all just wanted to get inside to secure our place on the barrier. When that time came we all ran (except past the security guards) straight into the venue and secured our places. I was lucky enough to get a place next to the people I had met and almost central on the barrier.
Eklipse were the first band on stage and played mainly covers on violins etc. They were ok but nothing special. Battle Beast were next and I was really impressed with their singer although they weren’t my sort of music. Then there was a tense wait while the set was changed over for Nightwish – this included the dropping of a huge material screen to create an effect when the band came on.
Nightwish were great – the new album combined with the pyro combined created a great atmosphere. The show started with Marco in a rocking chair behind the large screen and then burst into songs from the new album. There was a lot of pyro and a lot of energy but this was split into two with a quieter acoustic section in the middle.
The setlist
Taikatalvi
Storytime
Wish I Had an Angel
Amaranth
Scaretale
Slow, Love, Slow
I Want My Tears Back
Come Cover Me
The Crow, the Owl and the Dove
The Islander
Nemo
Last of the Wilds
Planet Hell
Ghost River
Dead to the World
Over the Hills and Far Away
Encore
Finlandia
Song of Myself
Last Ride of the Day
Imaginaerum
Here’s a selection of my best photos from the concert.
Absolute chaos trying to buy merchandise but after buying a t-shirt and a flag I made my way outside to meet my friends.
Tomorrow I’m starting the day by meeting an old friend of mine that lives not far from Amsterdam before seeing Within Temptation play a theatre show in the city.